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Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Guest Blog: Seven ways to fight gun violence

By Mark Glaze, Director, Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Americans
can no longer stomach the epidemic of gun violence in this country. In our
movie theaters, our shopping malls, and now our elementary schools, guns are
claiming the lives of 33 people every day. That’s 48,000 men, women, and
children who will be shot and killed during President Obama’s second term in
office – unless Washington acts.

We need
the president and our nation’s leaders to finally stand up and confront this
issue head-on. Their moments of silence and heartfelt condolences will not
suffice anymore. We must demand action. We must demand a plan.

Mayors
Against Illegal Guns, the largest gun violence prevention advocacy organization
in the country, has more than 750 mayors and 700,000 grassroots supporters who
are doing just that. From New York to North Dakota, Americans are more eager
than ever for our elected officials to do something about the carnage.

Along
with survivors and family members of victims of gun violence, our organization
launched theDemand A Plancampaign urging Washington to reduce gun
crime by:

● Requiring criminal background checks for all gun sales and
fixing the loopholes in our gun laws that easily allow dangerous people to get
their hands on firearms. Right now, more than 40% of gun sales go through with
no paperwork and no questions asked.

● Banning the deadly,
military-style weapons and high-capacity magazines whose only purpose is to gun
down large numbers of people as quickly as possible.

● Making gun trafficking a
felony.

These
are commonsense proposals that will help save lives.

Hundreds
of thousands of people across the U.S. from all walks of life are demanding a
plan. Join them and help prevent future tragedies from claiming our loved ones.
Here are seven ways you can take action:

(5) Recruit your mayor to
join Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Find out if your mayor is in the coalitionhere. If they are, thank them! If they aren’t,
contact them and ask them to join by signing our Statement of Principleshere.